1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an extendable toothbrush for assisting in brushing teeth with limited movement of the arms.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 2,517,029 to Ridner, U.S. Pat. No. 2,883,692 to Kaye, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,055,205 to Aoyama, each describe an extendable toothbrush with a hollow handle and a brush head that slides in and out of the handle. The object of each of these inventions is to provide a compact, portable toothbrush that can easily collapse for transport. None of the above mentioned patents attempt to provide an extendable toothbrush that allows a longer reach for brushing teeth, but rather they attempt the opposite—to provide a normal size toothbrush that can reduce its length for storage and transport.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,005,246 to Yen-Hui describes a toothbrush that has an extendable tongue cleaning attachment and a removable tongue scalar. Yen-Hui's toothbrush does not extend for brushing the teeth, but rather has an extendable tongue cleaning tool, which does not appear to have the requisite rigidity to act as a handle while brushing teeth.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,866,809 to Pelletir describes a telescopic toothbrush that is capable of dispensing toothpaste. Pelletir is unique in that the entire toothbrush is telescopic, as opposed to the present invention where a slidable neck extends the length of the toothbrush. Furthermore, Pelletire does not attempt to make the toothbrush telescopic for added reach, but rather as a means to dispense toothpaste from the handle.